• Campaign trail: At East Coast Canning (l-r) prime minister Scott Morrison; owner Chris Kelly; company HR manager Mel, and Andrew Constance
    Campaign trail: At East Coast Canning (l-r) prime minister Scott Morrison; owner Chris Kelly; company HR manager Mel, and Andrew Constance
  • Personalised: East Coast Canning can for the prime minister
    Personalised: East Coast Canning can for the prime minister
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Prime Minister Scott Morrison opened his 2022 election campaign with a visit to East Coast Canning, a start-up mobile canning, printing, labelling and packaging business on the NSW south coast.

Morrison was spruiking the government’s message of supporting innovation and employment, and supporting would-be MP Andrew Constance, who is aiming to overturn the marginal seat of Gilmore from Labor.

Personalised: East Coast Canning can for the prime minister

East Coast Canning owner Chris Kelly, who started the business five years ago with the help of a government grant, presented the prime minster with a custom-designed can, labelled as Scomo’s Strong Economy.

Morrison accepted the can with glee, before laying into the opposition leader’s inability to say what the current unemployment rate is, and citing East Coast Canning as an example of his government supporting a business to create employment.

From its early beginnings East Coast Canning now has 35 staff, operating five Codi canning machines around Australia. Since launch it has seamed 35 million cans, and labelled 10 million.

Food & Drink Business

Suntory has appointed Ashish Gandham as managing director for Suntory Global Spirits – Oceania, following the launch of the company’s $3 billion multi-beverage business in July 2025.

The federal government has established a new Trade Diversification Network, consisting of 40 peak industry bodies, as part of its $50 million Accessing New Markets Initiative. The member groups will work with government to support global diversification for exporters.

Leading contract manufacturer, Hitex Confectionery, has appointed Darren Butler as its new CEO, aiming to propel a new stage of expansion following two years of transformation.